Summary 简介

Anna interviews tourists on the National Mall in Washington, DC. She learns about where they are from and the languages they speak.

Anna在华盛顿国家大草坪上采访游人。她了解到他们从哪来，说哪国语言。

Speaking 口语

In this video, you can learn to say the new words. Learn how to say your country and nationality. You can also download the Activity Sheet and practice talking about countries and nationalities with a friend.​

Anna: Hello! Washington, D.C. has many tourists! People from different countries come here. Today, my job is to interviewtourists. I have to learn why they come here. This is very exciting! Excuse me. I’m Anna Matteo from The News. Do you have time for an interview?

Sabrina: Sure, I have time.

Anna: What is your name?

Sabrina: My name is Sabrina.

Anna: What country are you from?

Sabrina: I’m from Bangladesh.

Anna: So, you are Bangladeshi.

Sabrina: That’s right! My nationality is Bangladeshi.

Anna: Do you like Washington, D.C.?

Sabrina: Yes! The city is very beautiful!

Anna: What do you like to do in Washington D.C.?

Sabrina: I like history. So, I like walking around and looking at all the monuments and memorials. They make history come alive!

Anna: Washington has many monuments and memorials. The Washington Monument is behind us! Which is your favorite?

Sabrina: I really like Lincoln Memorial. It is very beautiful. And it feels like Abraham Lincoln is still alive.

Anna: Awesome. Thank you for your time, Sabrina!

Sabrina: You’re welcome.

Anna: Let’s find another tourist.

Anna: Oh! Excuse me. I am Anna Matteo from The News. Do you have time for a couple of questions?

Louis: Sure!

Anna: Are you from Washington, D.C.?

Louis: No, I’m not.

Anna: What is your name and where are you from?

Louis: My name is Louis. And I’m from China.

Anna: What languages do you speak?

Louis: I speak Chinese andEnglish.

Anna: What do you like about Washington DC?

Louis: I like the museums. I really like the art museums.

Anna: Many of the museums are free.

Louis: I like that too!

Anna: Awesome! Thanks for your time, Louis.

Louis: You’re very welcome. Bye!

Anna: Now, let’s find another tourist!

Anna: Hello! I am Anna Matteo from The News. Do you have time to answer a couple of questions?

Mehrnoush: Sure!

Anna: What is your name and where’re you from?

Mehrnoush: My name is Mehrnoush. I am from Iran. I’m Iranian.

Anna: What language do they speak in Iran? Is it Persian?

Mehrnoush: They speak Farsi.

Anna: What do you like to do in Washington DC?

Mehrnoush: Well, I like learning about government and politics.

Anna: Washington has many politicians!

Mehrnoush: It does! I want to see the U.S. Capitol.

Anna: Look, you are very near.

Mehrnoush: I am!

Anna: Have fun!

Mehrnoush: Thanks!

Anna: There you have it. Tourists from all over the world come to Washington, D.C. They all like doing and seeing different things in the city. This is Anna Matteo reporting for The News. Until next time!

Anna: Is that okay? Awesome! Now, I want to do my favorite thing in the city … ride the carousel!

Writing 写作

Where are you from? What languages do you speak? What do you like to do when you travel? Write to us by email or in the Comments section. Click on the image below to download the Activity Sheet and practice writing and talking about countries and nationalities with a friend.

Learning Strategy 学习技巧

Learning Strategies are the thoughts and actions that help make learning easier or more effective.

The learning strategy for this lesson is Monitor. We monitor to check on what we hear and say when we are speaking and listening in English. Here is an example from this lesson's conversation.

本课的学习技巧是监控。在练习口语和听力中，都要用到这种技巧。

Anna asks, "What country are you from?" She monitors to make sure Sabrina understands the question. Sabrina answers, "I’m from Bangladesh." Now, Anna knows that Sabrina understands the question.

Anna thinks she knows how to say Sabrina's nationality. She tries it: "So, you are Bangladeshi." Anna is listening to monitor what Sabrina says. Anna is not sure: is "Bangladeshi" the right way to say Sabrina's nationality? Some people use the word, "Bengali" to say this nationality.

Sabrina answers, "That’s right! My nationality is Bangladeshi." In Anna's mind, she monitors her understanding. She thinks, "I can say Bangladeshi for the nationality of a person from Bangladesh."

How do you monitor when learning English? Write to us in the Comments section or send us an email. Teachers, see the Lesson Plan for more details on teaching this strategy.

Quiz 测试

Anna asks the tourists many questions. Can you choose the right question for each person? See how well you understand the lesson by taking this short quiz.

Quiz - Lesson 16: Where Are You From?

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New Words 新词汇

​Abraham Lincoln– n. the 16th President of the United States

Abraham Lincoln– 名词，亚伯拉罕 ∙ ​林肯，美国第16任总统。alive – adj. living; not dead

alive - 形容词，活着的

art – n.something that is created with imagination and skill and that is beautiful or that expresses important ideas or feelings

art - 名词，艺术

carousel – n. a machine or device with a moving belt or part that carries things around in a circle

carousel - 名词，旋转木马

country– n. an area of land that is controlled by its own government

country - 名词，国家

couple – n. two (things) or a few (things)

couple - 名词，两个，几个

favorite – n.a person or a thing that is liked more than others

favorite - 名词，受欢迎的

free – adj. not costing any money

free - 形容词，免费的

government – n. the group of people who control and make decisions for a country, state, etc.

government - 名词，政府

history – n. the study of past events

history - 名词，历史

memorial – n. something (such as a monument or ceremony) that honors a person who has died or serves as a reminder of an event in which many people died

memorial - 名词，纪念碑，纪念堂，悼念仪式

monument – n. a building, statue, etc., that honors a person or event

monument - 名词，纪念碑，纪念堂

museum – n. a building in which interesting and valuable things (such as paintings and sculptures or scientific or historical objects) are collected and shown to the public

museum - 名词，博物馆

nationality – n. the fact or status of being a member or citizen of a particular nation

nationality - 名词，国籍

question – n. a sentence, phrase, or word that asks for information or is used to test someone's knowledge

question - 名词，问题

politics – n. activities that relate to influencing the actions and policies of a government or getting and keeping power in a government

politics - 名词，政治

ride– v. to sit on and control the movements of (a horse, motorcycle, bicycle, etc.)

ride - 动词，骑

tourist – n. a person who travels to a place for pleasure

tourist - 名词，游客

U.S. Capitol – n. the building in which the U.S. Congress meets in Washington, D.C.

U.S. Capitol - 名词，美国国会大厦

Countries/Nationalities/Languages 国家/国籍/语言

Bangladesh – n. a country in Asia

Bangladesh - 名词，孟加拉国

Bangladeshi – n. a native or inhabitant of Bangladesh. adj. of, relating to, or characteristic of Bangladesh or its people.

Bangladeshi - 名词，孟加拉国人

形容词，孟加拉国的，孟加拉国人的

China - n. People's Republic of, a country in E Asia.

China - 名词，中国

Chinese - n. the standard language of China, based on the speech of Beijing; Mandarin; a native or descendant of a native of China. adj. of or relating to China, its inhabitants, or one of their languages​

Chinese - 名词，中文，中国人

形容词，中国的，中国人的，中文的

Iran - n. a republic in SW Asia.

Iran - 名词，伊朗

Iranian -adj.of or relating to Iran, its inhabitants, or their language; of or relating to the Iranian languages.​ n. a subbranch of the Indo-European family of languages, an inhabitant of Iran; Persian.​

Iranian - 形容词，伊朗的，伊朗人的，伊朗话的

名词，伊朗人

Farsi - n.​ the modern Iranian language of Iran and western Afghanistan, written in the Arabic alphabet; modern Persian.​

Farsi - 名词，波斯语

Persian – adj. of or relating to ancient and recent Persia (now Iran), its people, or their language. n. a member of the native peoples of Iran; the principal language of Iran and western Afghanistan, in its historical and modern forms.

Persian - 形容词，波斯的，波斯人的，波斯语的

名词，波斯语

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Free Materials

免费学习辅助材料​

Word Book

Download the VOA Learning English Word Book for a dictionary of the words we use on this website.

Each Let's Learn English lesson has an Activity Sheet for extra practice on your own or in the classroom. In this lesson, you can use it to practice talking about nationalities and languages.

For Teachers

教师资源​

LLE 16 Lesson Plan

​See theLesson Plan for this lesson for ideas and more teaching resources. Send us an email if you have comments on this course or questions.

Grammar focus: Nationality and language names used as nouns and adjectives